'Escape Room' Has a Strong Start, but Underwhelms in the End

The concept of “a group of individuals being forced to play a game of life-and-death in which they need to solve puzzles in order to progress from one room to the next and extend their lives” has been explored in cinema before – most specifically in the Saw franchise and Cube.  However, it’s only in Escape Room that it’s utilized in the context of an escape room interactive adventure game.

The psychological horror film follows six strangers (Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Tyler Labine, Jay Ellis, and Nik Dodani) who receive invitations to visit the Minos Escape Room Facility for a chance to win $10,000.  However, they soon discover that the series of elaborate, challenging escape rooms that they need to navigate through is not a make-believe, fun game at all, but a real, deadly gauntlet for survival.

I like the first third or so of the movie.  Half of the characters are given solid, curiosity-grabbing introductions.  There’s creativity and thrills in how the “game” kicks off.  And a sense of intriguing mystery is emphatically established.  At that point, it has been seemingly setting up a mindblowing reveal.

Unfortunately, the movie gets downhill around the halfway mark.  It starts to feel messy.  And once it gets to the third act, the answers to its questions turn out being unsatisfactory and clichéd.  When the bigger picture is finally divulged, one is only left disappointed.  It lacks the appropriately grand and unique plot twist that would have given justice to its fresh premise and strong start.

Moreover, by the way it ends, it’s seemingly more concerned with starting a franchise than making a compelling, complete story.

However, there’s a scene (mild SPOILERS) very near the end that is somewhat brilliant.  Some extras are put in the forefront and they showcase some dreadful, hammy acting.  But, as it happens, there’s a reason for that.  It was something that I honestly didn’t see coming.  During that stretch in which I was still unaware of what’s really happening in that scene, the only thing going on my mind was bafflement that such bad acting was allowed on screen.  Then, after learning that it was intended, I was impressed by the execution.

Nevertheless, no, that wasn’t enough to make up for the movie’s underwhelming finish.